Kosei's eyes were always a unique case.
Unlike other students who could operate their Mystic throughout their entire body, most of his Mystic was concentrated in his eyes. Thanks to this, even though the total amount of his Mystic was above that of an average student, similar to his sister, he was unable to perform physical enhancements.
Because of this peculiar constitution, someone who adhered to secrecy had even approached him with interest.
However, Kosei was unable to awaken this constitution early on, for two main reasons.
One, his sister, Takanashi Hoshino, had limited the potential of his eyes to 'kinetic vision'.
And two, due to the side effects from his first battle with Neru, he never attempted anything beyond a 'slight enhancement of kinetic vision'.
Therefore, in important situations such as the contract with Kaiser or negotiations with Kaya, his eyes had only shown their true worth vaguely, as a gut feeling or a premonition...
But at this Kourin Taisai, the pressure and desperation of the stage surpassed his usual limits.
And the result was something that, perhaps, even he himself had not anticipated.
Ibis.
The truth of my eyes, as he called them, was actually much simpler than I thought.
Weapons. People. Actions. Attacks.
Deception. Emotions. Language. Thoughts. Plans. Food. Judgments. Problems.
Everything has a weakness that allows it to be easily overcome, and if that weakness is targeted, even the most powerful things cannot inflict significant damage. Yes. Ibis is the eye that allows me to realize this weakness.
Whoosh—!
Neru's kick, aimed at my head. Normally, I would have barely managed to dodge it by enhancing my kinetic vision.
But now, it feels different.
I grip the bat, alternating between my left and right hands, then tilt it at an angle of about 22° and hold it next to my head.
"Ah, shit!"
Neru's kick, imbued with a powerful Mystic, loses its balance from that single action and cuts through the empty air.
Neru is airborne. Her leg is up, and her posture is broken. Her balance is unstable.
Where should I hit? Her head? Her leg? Her abdomen? Among the countless options, I instinctively realize the best one.
Her right leg. Between the knee and the shin. Slashing from top to bottom.
Thump, Whack—!
Even though I didn't put much force into it, Neru, whose center of gravity was momentarily disrupted, tumbles to the ground.
"...You weren't kidding when you said you thought you could win, you punk."
"I'm surprised myself. I didn't think it would be this much."
"It's really pissing me off... Aah? You're dodging every single one of my attacks!"
Neru charges. Judging by the direction of her gun muzzles, her target is my right shoulder, which is holding the bat. I duck to the left and push off.
The muzzles turn. I, in turn...
Fling—
...throw the bat at Neru.
Neru's pupils tremble, and the direction of her gun muzzles wavers. A testament to her surprise. I quickly close the distance and load my pistol.
Red.
Yellow.
Pale.
Purple.
The four types of ammunition that can be loaded into our company's guns. Among them, Neru exhibits what is commonly referred to as Light Armor properties.
I load the FHG with Red Type ammunition and aim at Neru. I need to fire three shots.
BANG—! CLANG—!
One shot hits the bat, sending it airborne to eliminate any blind spots.
BANG—! THWIP—
Another shot hits the muzzle of Neru's gun, ensuring my safety.
BANG—! THWACK—!
And the last shot hits Neru's leg.
A pistol won't be a decisive blow against Neru anyway. And with her strong mental fortitude, minor hits won't work. What I need to aim for is one, decisive strike.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch—!
I unravel the chain and swing it like a whip. Ah, she blocked it. Neru caught it with her hand.
"Alright! Now this is mine—!"
This far. Just as planned. I throw the chain as it is, binding Neru's hands.
Now. The bat I sent flying earlier falls at the perfect time. I add centrifugal force to its falling momentum and swing.
She can't block this. A chain isn't something that's so easy to get untangled from. The point of impact is her abdomen.
CRACK—!!! Crrrrk—!!
With the sound of the chain cracking, Neru is sent flying far away again.
During this time, I check my condition.
First, my body. Good. Still a long way to go before I can't move. My eyes. Also good. I'm afraid of the backlash that will come after I release this, but for now, I can fight. The bat is in good condition too. I lost the chain, but it doesn't matter. I still have two magazines left for each type of ammunition in my pistol.
From now on, I move quickly, following the most certain path.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT—!!!
Crack—
Clang—Clang—!
"Tired? Your movements are getting slower."
"Aah?! What are you talking about!"
CL-CL-CL-CL-CLANG—!!! BANG—! RAT-TAT-TAT—!
Whoosh—Whack! Crrrk—Thwack—
"This chain is pretty annoying!"
Clank—Whoosh—
"It was made at your academy."
CLANG—!!! CRACK—!!!
"No wonder it's so sturdy!"
RAT-TAT-TAT—WHACK!
Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk—!!! CLANG—!!
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT—!!! RAT-TAT-TAT—!!!
"....Hmph, you monster."
"Call me a genius. There's someone who hates that word."
And so, our fight continued for a good ten minutes. The winner, of course, was...
The time is now 10 PM. The place is the break room on the third floor of The Farm's headquarters.
This is Arin speaking.
"Ugh... what a waste..."
"Are you still on about that, Sarin?"
"Aren't you upset, Onee-chan?! It was 300,000 yen!"
"Our company earns a little over 200 billion yen a month."
"Well, that's true..."
Well, I can understand why Sarin is acting like this. To get straight to the point, we did not win the Team Tournament.
The President succeeded in defeating Neru-san, and in the next match, Sarin faced C&C's Asuna-san.
"Oh? I dodged it! Te-hee~"
"Eei! Just let me hit you!! Damn it!!"
As Asuna-san kept dodging her attacks, an enraged Sarin set off about thirty flashbangs, shattering her senses and securing the victory.
"Ah... it stings..."
The President's eyes looked to be in a bad state, just like when he terrorized Millennium in the past. It was probably an overload, or perhaps the strain of using a power for the first time today.
Yes. I know. Sarin and Wakamo-san could probably hold their own against the Gehenna Prefect Team. That's what we thought, too.
"Alright! Let's go!"
"...Hmm. If it's Ayame, she should be an easy win."
"I'm right here, Nagusa."
Unfortunately, our next opponent was... the Hyakka Ryouran Conflict Resolution Council.
"...W?"
"It is not possible."
As they are the peacekeepers of Hyakkiyako, there was a high probability that they would recognize Wakamo. We had no choice but to declare our forfeiture and leave.
"Still, we achieved our goal from the other day."
"That is correct. In fact, after the edited broadcast of the Kourin Taisai, our sales increased by about 10%."
"And what's even more awesome is that it's still growing!!"
Our purpose for participating in the Kourin Taisai: 'To show that The Farm is student-friendly and to raise its reputation.' Since we defeated none other than C&C, it can be considered a success.
"So, where is the President?"
"He should be getting a compress in the fourth-floor medical room right now. He said he would execute the next plan as soon as he's done."
"The next plan?"
"The power called Mystic. All we've figured out is that each of us has an attribute, and that imbuing it makes us stronger. That's all."
"But the President told us that the strange phenomenon with his eyes this time was also due to his Mystic. He said he's planning something related to that. He mentioned going down somewhere..."
Abydos. The hometown where the President and his sister used to live. It would be nice if he could take this opportunity to go down and reconcile with his sister.
'He looks at her like she's his mortal enemy every time she speaks.'
As I was thinking that, Wakamo-san took out a file folder.
"Ah, speaking of which, Sarin. Could you give this to Utaha?"
"Hm? Kamo. What's this?"
"It's a request from the President. What was it he said? A new weapon? ...No, more importantly, what's with the 'Kamo'..."
"Why? It's cute. Kamo-kamo."
Ignoring Sarin's nonsense, I took the document Wakamo had handed over and checked it.
A new weapon, a new weapon...
At the top of the document, it was written:
"The Farm's New Weapon, the Crop Series."
"High-Elasticity Modified Whip (Infinite Splitting Adaptive Assault Cutter)..."
"Commonly known as ISAAC?"
The blueprint on the next page was even more spectacular. Do you remember what invention Utaha-san won the Millennium Prize for?
An elastic band with adjustable elasticity.
It seems the President intends to combine the chain he wielded at the Kourin Taisai with this elastic band to create, literally, a strategic weapon.
"If this is completed, it would be powerful, but..."
"It looks dangerous, doesn't it?! It was already like that when he was just swinging a plain chain."
"Frankly, if I were the head of another academy, I'd think he was preparing for war."
As I finished speaking, the three of us silently stared at the blueprint. Well, even so, our conclusion is always the same.
"Who? Utaha? Got it!"
"If you're going, please be quiet, Sarin. And wear your mask."
"Don't be so harsh, Arin. She'll be fine."
He is the President who raised us, who lived at the bottom, to the position of directors of a major corporation. He must have a plan.
And in fact, this thought was perfectly on the mark. In a completely unexpected way.
July 20th. Today could be considered a monumental day, in a way.
"Hmm~ Look at all this sand. Crazy."
"President, where should I land the helicopter?"
"Just land it anywhere. She won't be coming around now anyway, too busy bitching about her school life."
"Pardon? Who do you mean?"
"Someone. An annoying someone."
Because today is the day I return home, 200 days after running away.
The empty streets, thanks to most of the people having left. The buildings covered in sand from the wind. The souvenirs and bus stops that have now become obsolete.
This is my hometown. Abydos!
For now, my purpose is to meet the Black Suit hyung and ask him about my eyes. My sister? You think I'm crazy enough to go looking for her?
Even with Ibis, I can't win. That person is a little bit above Neru.
Anyway, so, to meet hyung, first I need to... ...Ah. Come to think of it, where do we meet?
"Should I spread a rumor or something?"
"Well, if you're really in a pinch, you could try visiting the school?"
That's probably the right thing to do. The school is sort of like the administrative district of the autonomous zone.
"But this is Abydos. You can just search it up, it's a place that's on the verge of ruin."
Are there even ten students left? Nah, there must be more than that.
And if it's a school, that person will be there too. I said I don't want to see her.
"Then how..."
Hmm, honestly, I could probably just go to Kaiser. The GSC President said Kaiser is running everything.
Though I only have a vague idea.
Alright! I've decided!
"Contact The Farm and tell them to get ten more guys who can operate a helicopter here immediately."
"Pardon?"
"We'll probably find him if we just search the desert."
"Pardon??"
"Double their usual hourly wage."
"Please wait a moment."
The employee piloting the helicopter immediately made a call and informed me that they would all arrive in about 10 minutes.
It's not that I'm planning to search the desert in a simple-minded way. It's a personal guess, but someone like the Black Suit hyung probably knows my movements.
And me, searching Abydos? He might not show up right away, but he'll give me a signal.
"Hmph..."
I gather my thoughts and look around. Even though I couldn't go out often, this is unmistakably Abydos.
Honestly, I don't miss it. Why would I miss a place I ran away from?
Well, yeah.
"The warmth of home. I can feel just about that much."
"Please get a grip, senpai!!!"
At that moment, while Kosei was getting sentimental, in another part of the same autonomous district, sentiments were exploding in the opposite direction.
"A sand festival? Do you really think that will work?!"
A girl with pink hair and a short stature, proving her blood relation to Kosei, was yelling in anger.
"B-But..."
And opposite her, a girl with mint-green hair and a tall stature was taking the brunt of that anger. The poster the smaller girl was holding seemed to be the cause of the conflict.
"It's not 'but'! That's it, I'm the only one who's ever working hard, right?! Right?!"
As she said that, the smaller girl tore the poster in her hands to shreds.
"Just do it by yourself! I'm quitting!!"
"Hoshino-chan, Hoshino-chan!"
It seemed the taller girl didn't have the courage to stop the smaller girl who was storming out in a fit of rage. All she could do was carefully gather the torn pieces, dreaming of a distant future, and watch over them again.
The taller girl's eyes reddened, and soon, teardrops formed and fell. The teardrops were watery enough to wet the sand, but the desert was too dry to embrace an individual's sorrow.
She only dreamed of one thing. To hold onto the academy that was about to turn to ash and scatter in this vast desert.